Readers' comments

The slogan “Sin maíz, no hay país” (“without corn, there is no country”) is absolutely correct. Corn is clearly a fundamental ingredient in many Mexican dishes. Especially for those who live in poverty, corn is a source of food and if the prices of corn go up, many Mexicans would no longer be able to afford this vital ingredient. The selling of tortillas is like a domino effect. The high prices of electricity and natural gas will cause tortilla manufacturers to want to increase their earnings. When dominating and monopoly tortilla manufacturers raise their prices, the “cheaper” versions will obviously increase too. After that, the society suffers. Many venders rely on the cheap tortillas to make food for the locals. But in reference to a video, the venders would sometimes come home with a profit of only two dollars. If the prices of tortillas were to raise about fifty percent, it would cause a handful amount of venders, who probably rely on the cheap tortillas, to drop into severe poverty. The government should be afraid of a riot against this because it will occur. It is the government’s responsibility to address such a vital issue in its society.

Corn is a staple food in Mexico, especially due to its importance in making tortillas. After NAFTA, competition with American corn producers caused many farms to switch to producing fruits and vegetables. Because Mexico relies heavily on imports from countries such as the U.S., it has become more dependent on the U.S. economy. Due to the recent increase of corn globally, it has caused many people in Mexico who rely on corn to suffer.

With people rioting, I think that the government has to become less reliant on imports. To do this i think they need to renegotiate NAFTA and make themselves more self-reliant first. Large farmers in Mexico, who produce for export, should be used to produce domestically.

Government causing problems with their attempted manipulation of the market for purely political proposes. Totally wrong and will be totally damaging to the voters and the economy, and also the government.

The maize crop has long been a staple of Mexicans' diets and culture, thus corn tortillas are consumed year round. However, raising maize prices are going to force the price of tortillas up by 50%! In 2007, this increase led to a series of "tortilla riots", where protesters shouted "sin maiz, no hay pais" meaning, "without corn, there is no country". They were right; for a country that once worshiped Centeotl, the god of maize, it seems essential to have affordable tortillas. Currently, the world price for maize is at an all-time high. Specialist tortillerias raised their prices by 2.6%, however supermarkets (where most people get their tortillas) raised their prices by 8.8%! A few weeks ago, the Economy Ministry purchased a form of corn insurance to safeguard prices until the third quarter of 2011. I think that tortilla prices must remain at an affordable level, because not only do they make up 1.2% of the consumer-price index, but white corn has been sufficient for satisfying domestic demand. Hoarders and monopolies should not mess with a product so prominent in everyday life in Mexico.

I am from Romania but I really like mexican food, especially the tortilla made from corn. I feel pretty bad about hearing the prices for the corn flour go up there too. In our country they also raised the prices to corn flour by about 10% ! We also use use corn flour to make several traditional bread-types such as "mamaliga" you can find more traditional romanian recipes here:http://retete-dietetice.net/romanesti-romaniatradi%C5%A3ionale .
I know that in Mexico tortillas are also made from wheat flour, but they are less appreciated. Anyway, I guess the price of wheat flour also gone up as it did in Romania.

The Aztecs sacrificed many people to the maize god – the god of corn. Rising corn prices, and in turn, rising tortilla prices, may be hurtful to Mexico’s economy. A surge in gas and electric prices are not helping matters for the cost of tortilla.
It was actually said at a street protest that without corn, there is no country. This undermines how important corn is in the Mexican economy. I agree with itskellyxp93 that corn is especially important for those who live in poverty, because it is a crucial ingredient in Mexico’s most basic foods. It is also a good insight that if the government does not deal with the problem, riots may begin. As Mexico is already at a degree of civil unrest, this is a very likely situation. I disagree with hikeandski that this is an issue of government manipulation. The Mexican government does not control world corn prices.